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Formalization of land and water rights combinations to deal with the consequences of
climate change in the rural & urban areas in China
Meine Pieter van Dijk Professor of urban management at ISS and IHS of Erasmus University
Rotterdam in the Netherlands
Version 31-10-2016
Abstract for World Bank conference on Land and poverty 2017
Key words paper: climate change, policy reforms, improved governance, decentralization,
stakeholder involvement, land titling; water titling; market mechanisms
Abstract
Climate change in China means higher temperatures, more droughts in the rural areas and because of
an increased volatility of the rains sometimes flooding in the urban areas. People have developed
adaptation mechanisms and it will be argued that adaptation requires titling of land and water rights.
This would facilitate water trading, which has been used in several countries to mitigate the
consequences of drought. We show land and water rights are related because an improved allocation
of water by stakeholders requires them to know they are entitled to sell surpluses.
After an introduction on climate change a theoretical framework will be provided, distinguishing
different categories of land and water entitlements (Open access, Common property, State property,
Limited individual ownership entitlements and Unrestricted individual ownership entitlements). The
last three are in particular relevant for China, Europe and the United States. The method used in this
study is largely a literature study, taking a comparative perspective.
Our research in rural China will be presented where dealing with more severe droughts were an issue.
Australia faced the Big dry and we draw lessons from Australia's efforts to deal with these
serious droughts between 1997 and 2009. It has led in Australia to reforms allowing water markets
to work, but required formalization of land and water rights. Australia has gone through a series of
institutional changes and is using a combination of more detailed planning of water use and allowing
water markets. We will argue that in the rural areas in China more drought also requires reform of
land and water policies, this requires titling of land and water rights. Formalization or titling means
that existing arrangements are put in a legal framework, which allows determining who owns the land
and the water and makes trading possible.
Then our research in urban China is presented to show climate change adaptation mechanisms in
urban areas and the implications for land and water rights. Finally, some conclusions will be
presented. China wants to move to a unifying land titling system. Such a system would integrate the
registration of all land resources, including what is on the land and what is below, meaning the water
and the minerals.
We conclude that using markets and putting in place more flexible and compatible incentive systems
may help adaptation to the consequences of climate change. The definition and flexibilisation of land
and water rights may help people in the rural and urban areas to adapt better to climate change. In a
period of climate change, it is good to have opportunities for markets to allocate scarce water in the
rural areas, while it needs to be clear who owns the water from rain water harvesting and wells in
urban areas. Would these owners also be allowed to trade surplus water?
Markets could and should also be a good platform for farmers’ participation in water
allocation. However, the introduction has been constrained by the degree of development in
the rural areas. Implementing policies for climate change at the provincial and local level is
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not easy and many national climate change policies have not been translated to lower levels
of government. Hence, a different approach is necessary. There is a lack of involvement of
the farmers in the decision making process and the challenge is involving farmers and other
stakeholders more in decision making. Only when the interests or viewpoints of all
stakeholders have been fully taken into consideration can the policy be expected to realize its
original objectives. Therefore, public participation is critical important in each step of the
policy cycle. This importance has been particularly clear in experiences with formulating and
implementing environmental policies.
The creation of water market should also be considered in China. Water trading can hardly be
found in places without big water infrastructure. The use of market mechanisms is still at a
nascent stage, however, the adoption of market mechanisms and involving stakeholders in
decision making are obvious trends in China's drought policies. But only small parts of
policies are implemented based on market agents and stakeholders input, which have been
proved elements of successful implementation. In addition, informal institutions still play an
important role in local drought management. Incorporating them into policies could improve
farmers' adaptive ability. Participation needs to improve in China. Real participation only
takes place when the stakeholders are part of the decision-making process. The drivers
mentioned have created the enabling environment for new actors to build their own
governance structures and to take the initiative.
The focus should be more on the adaptive capacity to deal with droughts or flood hazards,
and we suggest adaptive water management reactions regarding the water sector, such as
constructing additional water infrastructure and starting other water management systems.
Shifts from traditional integrated water governance to adaptive eco-dynamic water
governance will improve the local ability to deal with drought. Adaptive water management
is needed and should be integrated in existing water governance structures.
Increasing resilience of different ecosystems requires better management, strong formal
(public) and informal institutions, public private partnerships (PPPs), sharing of knowledge,
leadership and additional sources of finance. It is also important to enhance coordination
between different departments and levels of government and other stakeholders, and to
improve the implementation of drought policies, to reduce the cost of interventions. There is
a strong emphasis by the Chinese government on technocratic solutions, but the effectiveness
of these measures is limited. We conclude China should try to enhance the adaptive capacity
of institutions and individuals to prepare them better for droughts and floods as the major
expected result of climate change and to include environmental considerations in the policies.
References to relevant earlier research in the urban and rural areas in China
Bastakoti¸R. C., Gupta J, Babel M.S., van Dijk M. P. (2014) Climate risks and adaptation
strategies in the Lower Mekong River basin. In: Regional Environmental Change 14: 207–
219. DOI 10.1007/s10113-013-0485-8
Kamsma, L. and M.P. van Dijk (2014) Experimenting with land titling in Chengdu.
Washington: World Bank conference on land and poverty 2014.
Li H., Gupta J., Van Dijk M. P. (2013) China’s drought strategies in rural areas along the
Lancang River. Water Policy 15 (1): 1-18. doi:10.2166/wp.2012.050.
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Li H, Van Dijk M. P. (2012) Climate change and farmers’ response in rural China.
International Journal of Water 6(3/4):290-309.
Liang, X. and M.P. van Dijk (2015) The Factors in the Decision to Continue Rainwater
Harvesting Systems in Beijing to achieve Sustainable Water Management. In: Water, an open
access journal, DOI
Liang, X. and Van Dijk, M. P. (2012) Centralized waste water treatment in Beijing
economically & financially feasible. In: Water reuse & recycle, May, pp. 48-53.
Liang, X. and Van Dijk, M. P. (2012) Cost benefit analysis of centralized waste water reuse
systems. In: Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Vol. 3 (3) Article 5 doi: 10.1515/21522812.1060,
Liang, X. and Van Dijk, M. P. (2012) Beijing, managing water for the eco city of the future.
In: International Journal of Water, Vol. 6, No. 3/4, pp. 270-290
Van Dijk M. P. (2012) Introduction special issue on water governance. International Journal
of Water 6(3/4): 220-230.
Van Dijk, M. P. (2013) Climate change and sustainable development in China, policies for
mitigation and reactions of farmers in the Yunan province. In: Zhang J. & Voon Phin Keong
(eds, 2013). Enterprise anthropology: applied research and case studies. Beijing: CASS.
Van Dijk M. P. and Li, H. (2015) Climate change policies and adaptive behaviour of farmers
in Southern China. In Review of Economic Anthropology, Vol. 35, pp. 155-175. , DOI
10.1108/S0190-128120150000035007
Qiu Lei & M.P. van Dijk (2015) Water pollution and environmental governance systems of
the Tai and Chao Lake Basins in China in an international perspective. International Journal
of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 7, pp. 830-842, DOI 10.4236/jwarp.2015.710067,
open access.
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